Lyoto Machida and Chris Weidman unlikely to get immediate UFC title shots

One fighter had been offered a title shot but declined it, and the other has done everything he can think of to get one.

But for those respective fighters, former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) and middleweight Chris Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), neither is likely to get a shot at the belt in his next fight.

UFC President Dana White, though, is mum about what could be next.

Let’s start with the latter, Weidman. The undefeated wrestler steamrolled highly ranked Mark Munoz in July, which moved him to 5-0 in the UFC. Despite a “Knockout of the Night” performance against a fighter many considered the next middleweight title challenger, Weidman got no assurances he’d cut to the front of the line.

And despite a respectful campaign in recent months to get middleweight champion Anderson Silva interested in the fight, the New Yorker still has no assurances.

UFC President Dana White was asked about the possibility of Silva vs. Weidman on Tuesday on FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight.”

“No, no,” White said. “Well, it could happen. Who knows. We’ll see what happens. … The 185-pound division is red hot right now. Tons of guys are in the mix. We’ll see what happens.”

It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for the challenger. And besides, in the same interview, White opened the door for a potential Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre 180-pound super fight (assuming St-Pierre gets by interim champ Carlos Condit in November at UFC 154).

As for Machida, who recently turned a late-notice fight with light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, White was much more definitive.

“He’s not next in line,” White said. “He’ll fight another fight.”

Machida, of course, was promised a title shot after a second-round knockout of Ryan Bader at UFC on FOX 4 this past month. However, he riled UFC executives recently following the cancellation of UFC 151. There at the Sept. 1 event, Jones was slated to fight Dan Henderson, but nine days before the fight, Henderson scratched with a knee injury, and Jones then infuriated White when he turned down a late-notice fight with recent middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen.

Ultimately, UFC officials scrapped UFC 151 altogether, and White announced a new UFC 152 headliner between Jones and Machida for Sept. 22. One problem though: Machida had never accepted the fight, and he later turned it down due to a lack of preparation time.

“When I make a fight, I don’t say a word until both bout agreements are signed and the deal is done,” White said. “I did exactly what it is that I never do. We were in this position, that big media call was the next day, and I wanted to have some answers. So I went out there and Machida was in the freaking jungle somewhere. (His manager), Ed (Soares), told me he’s in the jungle and can’t get ahold of him. I said, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘I think he’s going to take the fight. I don’t see why he wouldn’t.’ So I went with it, and it didn’t work out.

“This is a guy who had been terrorizing me for a title shot and he said the four weeks wasn’t enough. I said ‘OK’ and I moved on. … When you turn down an opportunity to fight, things start going in another path, in another direction.”